


The Language of Flowers

by philatos



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, CEO Victor, Crying, Depression, Emotional, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Falling In Love, Florist Yuuri, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Slow Burn, Smut, Victor's gonna suffer lmao im so sorry my boy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-11-18 04:48:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11284032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/philatos/pseuds/philatos
Summary: Victor Nikiforov, a stressed out workaholic with a caffeine addiction, stumbles into an unlikely friendship with the cheery florist from down the road. As unfamiliar emotions begin to take root in his heart, he must decide whether to simply leave his feelings buried, or to let love blossom.





	1. Flax

**Author's Note:**

> Me: Hey, you know what would be cute? A Victuri florist AU where everything would be fluffy and sweet :D  
> Also me: *dumps pitcher of angst into fic* IT'S FOR THE PLOT I SWEAR
> 
> Yeah, so these two nerds have taken over my life again so I decided to try my hand at a multichap AU this time. Will try to update weekly!
> 
> Hope you enjoyyyy.
> 
> P.S: Special shoutout to @[soulztheyoshi](http://soulztheyoshi.tumblr.com/) for inspiring this AU and dealing with my incessant yelling about it <3

As the saying goes, all work and no play made Jack a dull boy. If that indeed was the case, Victor Nikiforov was quite sure that he was the dullest person alive and he’d since made his peace with that.

 

Closing his office door behind him, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief. As charismatic as he could be when the occasion called for it, he really hated this particular aspect of corporate life. Meeting new people was generally stressful in itself, but when those people could potentially catapult his company to new heights, the pressure increased tenfold. Plisetsky Sr. was every bit as imposing as his reputation suggested, his heavy stare making Victor second guess everything he said as soon as the words left his mouth. His loud-mouthed teenage grandson didn’t help either, questioning Victor’s points as quickly as he presented them, zeroing in on all their weaknesses with a terrifying accuracy.

But somehow through it all, Victor managed to keep his cool and even managed to get a second meeting scheduled for next week, a result that Victor could barely even hope to have achieved a few days back. His company, Nikiforov Ltd, was small, just over a year old with less than 50 employees, a guppy in the shark infested waters of the dog eat dog advertising world. So, when he got an email informing him that Plisetsky and Co., one of the biggest names in the industry, was looking for a business partner, he slammed out what he personally considered the Venus de Milo of business proposals, and sent it off, heart pounding.

After weeks of not hearing anything back, he had all but given up, expecting a rejection letter in his inbox any day now. To his surprise, the eventual email from Plisetsky and Co. actually contained a request to hear his proposal in person, one that Victor nearly fell over himself to reply to.

And now, weeks of preparation and a boat load of anxiety later, he was finally done, with another meeting scheduled within the month. But as relieved as he felt, the long-delayed tiredness that had been slowly seeping into his bones finally hit him full force. He wanted nothing more than to simply go home, pour himself a glass of wine and fall into bed and perhaps not leave it for the next 24 hours. But a nagging part of his brain reminded him that he had to look over a few things before leaving, preparing for the new mountain of work that awaited him in the extremely near future. He sighed, as he sat down, pulling out his phone.

He blinked at the seven missed calls from that stared back at him almost accusingly. Before he could even unlock it however, his phone started buzzing, an eighth call lighting up the screen.

“Chris,” he answered, in lieu of a greeting, too tired to say much else.

“Victor!” came a cheery voice from the other end. “Didn’t expect you to actually pick up this time.”

“Yeah sorry about that Chris.” he said, rubbing the back of his head.  “Things have been crazy at work, I actually just got out of a meeting.”

“Gross. Anyways, just calling to check that you’re not bailing on me today. You aren’t are you?”

“Today?” said Victor, confused. “I’m sorry, what?”

Chris’ sigh was audible through the phone. “I knew it, I knew you’d forget. Good news is, Evan now owes me ten bucks. And since I’m in a particularly charitable mood, I’ll remind you that JJ’s housewarming party is this evening at 7.30. You know, the one you promised him you’d go to?  Seriously, why do you even have a planner if you’re not going to actually use it?”

“Fuck,” said Victor, quickly glancing at his watch, wincing slightly at the time. “I don’t think I’ll be making this one Chris.”

“Oh no you’re not doing this again Victor,” said Chris firmly. Victor could almost see his displeased expression, brows narrowed and arms crossed, phone tucked between his ear and neck. “I’ve kept track of how many times you’ve bailed this past year and let me be the first to tell you that that number ain’t pretty.”

“I know, I know,” said Victor diplomatically, almost raising his arms up in surrender before realizing that Chris wouldn’t be able to see him. “And I’m sorry. But even if I leave now, traffic will be a real bitch so I’ll be late anyways and there’s really no point-”

“No excuses Nikiforov. You’re coming with me to this party by hell or high water. This is a JJ party you know. What kind of friend leaves another to the mercy of Jean-Jacques Leroy?”

“A pretty terrible one I’d imagine,” said Victor, smiling wryly despite himself. “But don’t be so dramatic. Aren’t you bringing Evan?”

“Yeah, but he’s just too annoyingly nice.” complained Chris. “He’s the type who’ll entertain JJ’s nonsense throughout the night just to be polite, leaving me alone and bored.” Chris sighed dramatically. “Still love the man to bits though. How did I get such an angel to even look at my sinful ass, I’ll never know.”

“Actually, I think your sinful ass might have had something to do with that,” said Victor dryly, making Chris chuckle. “But you’re right, he’s entirely too good for you.”

“I agree, but as long as he doesn’t realize it, all’s well. Anyway, point is, you’re coming with me whether you like it or not.”

“Can’t we just both bail?” asked Victor weakly.

“No can do. I promised him I’d be there and unlike _some people,_ I hate going back on my word.”

“Never one to pull back your punches are you, Giacometti?”

“No, but you love me anyway.”

“True.” Victor sighed in defeat. “Fine,” he said. “Give me a minute, I’ll leave in a bit.”

“Great!” said Chris brightly. “I’ll see you there then. Oh, don’t forget to bring a gift.”

“Oh fuck. What do people even bring to these things?”

“Anything from the household section of a reasonably high end department store would do. Bed sheets, candles… that kind of thing.”

Victor made a face. “Bed sheets? For JJ? For him to sleep and do God knows what on? That just feels… wrong.”

Chris laughed. “Yeah maybe a little bit. You could always get him some tasteful home décor. I haven’t even been to his house yet but something tells me he needs it.”

“I think the only thing he’d like would be a gigantic framed picture of his own face.”

“You’d make the man’s entire year, though I think Isabella would kill you. But now that I think about it, I don’t know if any department stores are open now.”

“Great,” muttered Victor. “Back to square one.”

“Well,” said Chris thoughtfully. “Flowers always work?”

“Flowers?” echoed Victor. “Yeah, I guess. Not super original or anything, but at this point I don’t really care.”

“Neither do I. Just get your ass over to that party! I gotta go now, darling. Evan’s calling.”

“Right, see you.”

Victor ended the call, smiling slightly to himself. Trust Christophe Giacometti to come in and wreck his evening’s plans when he least expected it. Though if he was being entirely honest with himself, a part of him was secretly happy with the new development. Even a JJ party was better than staring at spreadsheets and productivity reports for the next few hours alone in his office. As focused as he was, even he had a breaking point. Grabbing his keys, he quickly shut down his laptop and headed out.

 

Wracking his brain, he tried to remember if there were any florists in the immediate vicinity, the only one coming to mind being the organic supermarket with its edible flowers. Victor quickly nixed that idea, pulling out his phone, silently thanking whoever invented Google.

“Florists near me,” he muttered, typing in the letters.

A list showed up a millisecond later, displaying a list of options, which Victor sorted by distance.

“Yuutopia Flowers?” he said to himself tapping the link. Strange name and its website was practically non-existent, just listing a brief passage about the shop along with an address and a phone number. Normally Victor would shop around for something more reliable, but it was only 5 minutes away, would be open for a little while longer and was on his route to boot.

His decision made, he got into his car, quickly pulled up the directions and headed off. True to the map, it was barely a street away, though Victor nearly missed it the first time. No wonder he hadn’t seen it before, it was tiny and set right in-between two bright chain retailers. But once Victor focused on it, it was hard to look away.

It was absolutely charming, a refreshing sight in the concrete wasteland Victor spent all his time in. Plants littered the front, placed on the ground and on stacked boxes, crowding around the limited area until the only available space was the walkway to the door. A small vine-covered trellis stood at the left, forming a border between the shop and the convenience store next to it, blocking some of the harsh fluorescent light. Pots with a multitude of coloured blooms cascading from them were hung from a beam, their leaves looking slightly wet as if they’d just been watered. The front of the shop was a large window but Victor couldn’t make out much inside from where he was. Curiosity peaked, he set his car into park and made his way to the slightly ajar eggshell blue door. A sense of freshness seemed to permeate from the shop, and Victor found himself breathing in deeply as he walked in.

The interior was decorated in the same vein as the exterior, the walls painted light blue and white with shelves lining them, each level holding a different type of flower. Buckets and boxes containing the more common types like roses and carnations were placed on the lower levels, while the higher ones contained more exotic species like potted orchids and brightly coloured lilies. Scents wafted through the shop, jasmine, lavender and magnolia twining together, the perfumed air clearing Victor’s lungs as he wandered further inwards. Crates stacked alongside the shelves overflowed with brightly coloured heralds of spring, daffodils, tulips and others Victor couldn’t identify. Leafy green tropical palms and the like were clustered towards the back, next to a table lined with miniature cactuses and succulents. Light flowed in freely through the large front window, everything tinged with gold from the setting sun, adding to the slightly unearthly aura the shop seemed to hold.

As he reached the end of the store, Victor remembered what he was there for. Glancing at the counter, he frowned. No one was there, much to his annoyance. The shop was definitely still open, the door wasn’t locked after all.

He walked around, poking his head around shelves in search of someone but to no avail. Just as he was about to go try his luck at the counter again, he heard a door opening.

“Sorry!” came a panicked voice. “I’ll be with you in a second!”

Hearing footsteps near the counter, Victor walked back there, and this time was greeted with a different sight. A man had emerged from the door behind the counter, carrying a stack of boxes. He couldn’t see too much of him since his face was obstructed, but Victor could safely assume he worked there, if his apron was anything to go by.

“It’s alright,” said Victor. “Take your time.”

He went back to browsing for a moment before the voice called out again. “We’re having a sale on Peruvian lilies at the moment.”

“Oh?” said Victor, having no idea what those looked like. “Are those good for bouquets?”

“Yes, definitely! They’re in the green box just in front of the counter if you wanna have a look?”

Looking down, Victor immediately found them. Kneeling down to take a closer look, Victor couldn’t help being impressed. The flowers were large, vibrant and their warm hues would definitely brighten up a room. The brightly coloured blooms were definitely eye catching, a trait he knew JJ would appreciate given the man’s borderline obnoxious personality. And despite them being on sale, Victor couldn’t find anything unsightly or blemished about them.

Despite having a decent level of knowledge on a variety of subjects from knitting to 18th century Russian literature, Victor could confidently say he knew absolutely nothing about plants and anything related to their world, flowers included. Ergo, the more subtle matters like the meanings behind the blooms were way beyond his capability. Unfortunately, said matter would be important in this case, not wanting to send an entirely wrong message to JJ. Lilies didn’t have anything to do with romantic love do they? He really _really_ hoped not.

Deciding to leave these matters to the expert, he asked. “Do you know if these would be a good housewarming gift?”

“I’d say so, yeah,” replied the voice. “These lilies are really versatile.”

“Hm,” said Victor, eyes still fixed on the blooms. “Yeah, they’ll do.”

“Would you like a vase with it? It’s only $15 extra.”

Victor made a noise of vague affirmation while nodding.

“Wonderful,” said the voice, now from directly above him.  “Shall I wrap them up for you?”

Victor looked up, finally coming face to face with the mystery shop assistant. He looked Asian, Japanese if Victor had to venture a guess, with coal black hair and warm brown eyes, hidden behind a pair of large glasses with dark blue rims. His cheeks were slightly pink, flushed from the extertion of carrying those boxes earlier. He couldn’t have been much younger than Victor himself, but somehow he seemed to emanate a type of energy that Victor hadn’t felt for years upon years. Half of that energy seemed to come from his smile, a gentle curve of his lips that seemed too genuine to be simply there for politeness’ sake.

“Yeah, thanks,” he said, stepping back from the box so the other man could work.

Victor watched silently as he put together the bouquet with amazing speed. His deft fingers selected paper and such from under his workstation, barely looking at what he was doing as the bouquet began to take shape.

“You make it look so easy,” he found himself commenting, captivated by the way his hands moved.

“Ah, it’s just from a lot of practice. When I started I could barely tie a decent bow, but you kinda gradually learn on the job. Sink or swim right? Wasn’t gonna let a couple of stupid ribbons hold me down.”

“Good attitude,” said Victor. “You show those ribbons who’s boss.”

“Oh they know,” he smiled. “Thanks.”

A beat of silence settled over the pair for a minute before Victor’s earlier concern flared up in his mind. “So, what do they mean, exactly?”

“Hm?”

“The flowers? They have meanings right? I might be wrong, I don’t really know much about plants or anything, so…”

“No, no, you’re absolutely right!” said the other man, eyes suddenly lighting up. “I said earlier how these are super versatile right? Well that’s because they symbolize friendship and devotion, so you can use them for loads of things, graduations, birthdays, and yep, housewarmings. You can see here,” he pointed to a leaf. “The leaf starts out right side up, but it’s special,” he smiled widely.  “As it grows it turns so the bottom faces upwards instead. That’s meant to represent how strong friendships can last even through twists and turns with enough devotion. And here if you see-”

To his surprise, Victor found himself listening attentively, nodding along as the other man pointed out the quirks of the plant, even comparing it to others. He soon lost track of what he was saying, but he didn’t mind, content to simply watch how animated the other man became, arms practically flailing as he gestured from plant to plant. His earlier nervousness seemed to have evaporated, replaced by pure passion filled excitement. It was… cute. Yes, thought Victor. That was the word he was looking for. _Cute_. It encompassed the aesthetic of the store and its keeper quite well.

But then, just as suddenly as he had started, the other man suddenly stopped mid-sentence. “I’m so sorry!” he said, a flush returning to his cheeks as he frantically went back to wrapping the half-finished bouquet. “I get really distracted when I talk about flowers, sorry for boring you.”

“No, no don’t apologize,” said Victor reassuringly. “It was… nice. I don’t know anything about plants so I definitely learnt something today”

“Still, I shouldn’t have gotten distracted like that. Super unprofessional, I’m sorry,” he said, putting the finishing touches on the bouquet. “Just one more thing, and…” he snipped off the excess ribbons with flair. “Done! One amazing housewarming gift, good to go.”

“It certainly looks it.”

“Thank you,” he beamed. “Shall I ring it up for you?”   

 

After paying for the flowers, strangely enough, Victor found himself lingering. His earlier need to rush off seemed to have dissipated, replaced by an almost foreign sense of calm. Who knew that such a slight change of scenery could change his mood so quickly.

“Hey,” he said. “Thanks for the help…um,” he looked for a nametag, finding none.

“Oh, it’s Yuuri!” said the other man. “Yuuri Katsuki.”

“Yuuri,” repeated Victor, testing out the name. “Got it. Sorry for keeping you past closing by the way.”

“It’s no problem. Most of it was me babbling anyway,”

“I’m sure I learnt something. I might just come back for another class sometime.”

“You should. Might make my day a bit more interesting.”

“Mine too,” smiled Victor. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve really gotta go now,” he said, picking up the bouquet. “It was nice meeting you Yuuri.”

“Likewise. Have a good night!”

“Night!” called out Victor, walking out the door, giving Yuuri one last parting glance before he left. Stepping back out into the cool night air, he internally winced at how dark it had gotten. How long was he even in there?

 

Making his way to his car, he placed the bouquet in the backseat, being sure to buckle it in securely. Getting in himself, he started up the car, feeling oddly light. Yuuri’s upbeat attitude must have affected him somewhat. Not that he was complaining. Being an almost perpetually grumpy 30 year old who spent all his time working didn’t exactly do him many favours in circles outside his career. But now, the world seemed just a little bit brighter. Even the prospect of a JJ party didn’t do much to dampen his newfound good mood.

He might have to drop in for more flowers one day, he mused to himself before driving off, racing against the setting sun.


	2. Chrysanthemum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Finally,” said Chris by way of greeting. “Thought you bailed on me for a minute there.”
> 
> “Oh come on Chris, you know I’d never do that,” said Victor. “I mean, I would, but you’d definitely bitch about it for the rest of my days.”
> 
> “Yep,” agreed Chris. “And even then, I’ll be sure to mention your betrayal at your eulogy.”
> 
> “How touching,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh I'm so sorry about the late update. I managed to somehow lose half the chapter in my computer and I was just too angry at myself to rewrite it for a while. But, good news is I managed to do it! Hope ya'll enjoy!

Pulling up at JJ’s, Victor exhaled, willing himself to pull together the remaining dregs of energy in him to look at least somewhat excited at the prospect of spending three or so hours at a party he didn’t particularly want to be at. Despite his best efforts, it didn’t really work, his smile looking more like a pained grimace, enhanced by the tired look in his eyes.

Walking in his ears were immediately assaulted by a rush of sound. JJ really didn't do things by halves, he thought, blearily observing the number of people there. Setting the flowers down by the pile of gifts on a table near the door, he made his way through the crowd, searching for a familiar face. He spotted a few from grad school, unsurprising considering that JJ and him were course mates, but no one that he knew enough to want to talk to at the moment. Somewhere along the way, he managed to grab a glass full of what he hoped was alcoholic before he eventually spotted Chris at a corner slightly away from the crowd, eyes fixed on his phone. He quickly made his way over, breathing a sigh of relief as he placed his glass on the high table.

“Finally,” said Chris by way of greeting. “Thought you bailed on me for a minute there.”

“Oh come on Chris, you know I’d never do that,” said Victor. “I mean, I would, but you’d definitely bitch about it for the rest of my days.”

“Yep,” agreed Chris. “And even then, I’ll be sure to mention your betrayal at your eulogy.”

“How touching,” smiled Victor despite himself. “Where’s Evan?” he asked, glancing around them for a moment.

“Oh,” said Chris, face falling slightly. “He’s running late today. Late shift at the hospital _again._ He said he’d try to make it if he managed to get out, but…” he trailed off with a shrug.

“That’s terrible, I’m sorry.”

“Comes with the territory I’m afraid. But I’m not writing him off yet. Fingers crossed he shows up?”

“Let’s hope so,” smiled Victor.

“So,” said Chris slowly, after taking a long sip from his drink, a familiar look in his eye. “What’s going on with you?”

Victor shrugged. “Well,” he said. “Not to brag or anything, but I did manage to land another interview with the Pliesetskies, so things aren’t horrible.”

“Really? Good job.” said Chris, tipping his glass towards him. “Just don’t fuck up the next one.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Chris,” said Victor dryly.

“Anytime. But…” he trailed off, narrowed eyes fixed on Victor, studying him intently.

“What?”

“I don’t know,” admitted Chris. “You just seem a bit… off.”

“Off?”

“Yeah, but in a good way.”

“That definitely clears it up, thanks.”

 “Sorry, I can’t put my finger on it,” said Chris. “What else happened today? Cause as much as I love you Victor, you were being a real drag on the phone earlier and now it’s like you’ve done a 180. You’re actually engaging in conversation and you haven’t picked up your phone once. So, spill. What happened? Run into a handsome stranger at the door? Have said handsome stranger bump into you, making you drop your coffee, prompting him to insist on buying you another one, and what was supposed to be a quick meeting turns into an impromptu date where you laugh at his actually funny jokes, and then you suddenly find yourself staring into his beautiful blue eyes and-”

“And I’m gonna stop you right there.” interrupted Victor, not wanting to hear another one of Chris’s tawdry fantasies at his own expense. “As fun as that sounds, my life is unfortunately infinitely more boring. I just picked up the flowers and came straight here.”

“Ah, so we can narrow it down to the florist then.” said Christophe, perking up considerably. “Was he cute?”

“Aesthetically sure I guess, but I’m not interested. We just talked for a bit.”

“Oh is that what they’re calling it these days? Talking?”

“I don’t know how you’re managing to make a simple conversation sound suggestive, Chris and I don’t want to. We talked while he worked on my order. That’s it. Nothing to discuss.”

“Ok, fine,” conceded Chris. “God Victor, you’ve got to give me something to work with here. Your social life is depressing even by my standards.”

“At least give me a fighting chance Chris, those are pretty high.”

Chris laughed. “Maybe once upon a time when I was single and free. Which is why I need to live vicariously through you from now on.”

“Oh joy.”

“But seriously Victor, can you blame me for being concerned about you?”

 “You sound like my mother,” grumbled Victor, taking another gulp of his drink.

“And I’m sure Mama Nikiforov appreciates me taking the trouble. Tell her I said hi, by the way.”

“Fine, if you stop poking your nose into my life.”

“Not a chance. I’m just worried about you Victor.I can’t even remember the last time you were in a relationship, much less on a date.”

“You know my stance Chris. Relationships are always messy and casual dating is not only a pointless endeavour that rarely goes anywhere, but also something I have neither the time nor the will to do. I’ve got way too much on my plate right now to put in any energy into that.

“I could set you up with someone?” mused Chris, swirling the remains of his rum and coke around. “He’ll have my seal of approval, so no weirdos I promise. I think there’s a guy on Evan’s floor who might be single,” he winked.

“Thanks but no thanks,” said Victor firmly. “I appreciate the concern but I’d rather we just change the subject.”

“Alright,” conceded Chris, pushing his glass towards Victor. “But first, could you be a dear and get me a refill?”

“You’re the worst,” said Victor, even as he picked up their empty glasses.

“Thank you!” called out Chris as he walked off.

Victor sighed as he navigated his way back into the throng of people to the table stacked with alcohol located unfortunately right smack in the middle of it. Making an effort to avoid eye contact with anyone, lest they take it as an invitation to start talking to him, he quickly poured their drinks with practiced ease, a remnant from his time spent at way too many similar parties. Just as he was about to make a quick dash to their island of (relative) safety, a booming voice called out behind him.

“Victor!”

Victor groaned internally, setting down the glasses before affixing a plastic smile to his face. “JJ,” he said as brightly as he could, hoping his voice didn’t betray him. “Great party.”

“I know right?” grinned the other man. “Glad you could make it,” he said, slapping a hand on his shoulder. “I haven’t seen you in forever. How’s it been?”

“Oh you know, same old. Just keeping busy,” he said vaguely.

“Hah, that’s an understatement if what I’ve heard is true.”

“That depends on what you heard,” said Victor carefully.

“Whoa, no need to go on the defensive there, it’s hardly anything scandalous. Just that your name, or should I say, your company’s name, keeps popping up more and more. Good job, by the way. But, I might have heard that you’re quite set on making a name for yourself, maybe with some Pliesetsky help, hm?

Victor blinked. “How did you-”

“I know people, it’s what I do,” said JJ, cutting him off. “Oh don’t look so worried, I have no interest in cutting a deal with them right now. If anything, you should be happy. Contacts are everything, right? But anyway, enough about that. It’s a party and I’d like to actually have some fun here. You should try it sometime you workaholic you.” laughed JJ, shaking his head. “You need to let loose before all that internalized stress kills you or something. Isabella and I would welcome another addition to our Friday night clubbing. What d'you say? Wanna relive the glory days?” he winked.

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.” smiled Victor as politely as he could. “Not really my scene anymore.”

“That’s a shame,” said JJ, sounding genuinely disappointed, much to Victor’s surprise. “Those days were fun,” he sighed wistfully. “But I suppose we’ve all gotta grow up sometime, right? Some sooner than most.” he laughed, giving Victor a nudge.

“I suppose”

“Anyways, don’t let me keep you here. Go,” he smiled widely. “Mingle a bit! And thanks for the flowers, by the way!”

Victor smiled weakly, giving the other man a small wave as he left. Picking up his drinks, he sighed in relief, quickly making his way back to Chris.

“You will not belie-” he paused, noticing his morose expression. “What happened?”

“Evan got called in again. “Emergency shift at the hospital,” muttered Chris. “Third one this week. I really shouldn’t complain but seriously. His department is seriously understaffed and they keep cutting the budget instead of getting more people, it’s ridiculous.” he sighed. “Seeing him so worn out all the time… I remember once where he fell asleep right at the table during dinner after a 30 hour shift. It really just breaks my heart, you know?”

“That’s terrible,” said Victor sympathetically. “Here,” he said, sliding Chris’s glass over. “This might help.”

“Thanks,” muttered Chris before knocking back his drink in one go. “So,” he said. “How was our old friend?”

Victor rolled his eyes. “As painful as he usually is. Got a bunch of life advice about how i need to ‘relax’ or whatever.

Chris was quiet for a pause. “Wow, I’m agreeing with Jean-Jacques Leroy, what has this world come to?”

“Oh not you too.”

“You may not like the man, but he’s right. You’ve been so wrapped up in work that you’ve been neglecting all other aspects of your life. And do you know why I think that is?”

“Enlighten me, oh wise one.” said Victor with biting sarcasm.

“Fuck you Nikiforov, I’m trying to help you here. I’m tipsy enough to be real with you so take notes.” He took another sip before saying, “I think it’s because you’re afraid.”

“Yeah, I think you’ve moved beyond tipsy into just plain delusional territory.”

“No no, hear me out,” he insisted. “You’re good at your job right? So it makes sense that you’d want to surround yourself with the thing you’re good at. Meanwhile, looking back at your past relationships, I mean let’s just look at your most recent ex-”

“Drop it,” gritted out Victor, hand tightening on his glass. “Don’t even say his name.”

“Right, sorry.” said Chris, sobering up a little. “But you get what I mean, right? You’re ignoring your social life, or more specifically, your love life because you’re afraid of it. Am I right?”

Victor sighed, leaning back and closing his eyes as he willed the alcohol to absorb into his bloodstream faster. ”Even if you were, I wouldn’t tell you, would I?”

Chris smiled triumphantly. “That’s the closest I’ll get to Victor Nikiforov admitting defeat, but I’ll take it. Now the question is,” his expression turned serious. “What are we going to do about it?”

“Absolutely nothing.”

“Victorrrr,” whined Chris. “We almost had a breakthrough!”

“I mean it, Chris.” said Victor decisively. “Things are beyond hectic at work right now and juggling a relationship on top of that is beyond stupid. But,” he said seeing Chris’ expression. “If it will make you happy, after this deal at work is settled, I’ll let you set me up on a date, Blind or otherwise.”

“Not the solution i was hoping for, but I grudgingly accept.” said Christophe, raising his glass to him in agreement.

“Good, now can we stop talking about this and go back to quietly bitching about JJ instead?”

“Sounds good.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao, I'm so terrible to JJ in this chapter, I'm so sorry my boy, ily.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos are appreciated and comments fuel me.  
> Follow me on Tumblr @ [**griffith-did-nothing-wrong.tumblr.com**](http://griffith-did-nothing-wrong.tumblr.com/)  
> 


End file.
